The Color Red
by Unique Fantasy
Summary: A Supernatural beast Overwatch AU. The fight between Overwatch and Talon brings in a new player, one that has major anger and resentment issues. Simply out of spite she joins Overwatch, but now has to deal with things like feelings and people who are honestly trying to help her. A story about angst, learning to love life, and gaining friends. I have no right to Blizzard Characters
1. Chapter 1

"They have the whole place surrounded. What the hell are they plannin'?" Jesse growled, ducking under one of the cracked windows. A bullet came through where his head was seconds ago.

"Damn."

"How did they get so many of us trapped?" Angela asked,trying to stay out of sight. There was a dozen Overwatch agents in the warehouse, all oblivious to the ambush until they were trapped.

The warehouse intercom system cracked and boomed to life.

"Hola! I heard a little birdy told you about this place." The voice was staticy but sounded like a hispanic female.

"I think the birdy set you up!" Laughter followed.

"Overwatch has been getting on a few nerves, so we decided it's time you met one of our finest assets. Consider yourselves lucky, not a lot of people get to meet her. Enjoy!" The intercom grew silent.

"Can't be that bad. One agent against all of us. Right?" Lena asked over the com.

"One agent they think is capable of taking on all of us? I'll admit, I'm a little scared." Hana replied.

"We got a fire on the south entrance of the first floor!" Lucio yelled.

"Over here at the stairs to the second floor too." Ana chimed in.

"Are we still surrounded?" Angela asked. Jesse peeked out the window and ducked down to quickly avoid another bullet.

"That would be a yes."

"Are they going to try and watch us burn to death?" Hana screamed. Angela's brow furrowed and she frowned.

"We need to group up. Where should we be that's far enough from the fire so we can figure out a plan?" Angela sent through the coms.

"Oh yeah, let's all group up and make us easier to kill for whatever psycho they let set the building on fire!" Hana said sarcastically.

"The north side, first floor. Group up there, but stay vigilant. There is an enemy agent in here with us." Reinhart boomed. Angela nodded to Jesse and they made their way through the warehouse. Angela gave a start when they turned a corner and Ana ran into them. She gave them a salute and they went to continue, but Jesse pulled them back against a wall. He held a finger to his lips and listened. There was something besides the normal warehouse noises. Someone was calling softly.

"Overwatch… I know one of you can hear me." It wasn't like the intercom voice. It was a person, female, spoken softly but somewhere in the warehouse close to them.

"You should stop me Overwatch… stop me before I do this again." Jesse repeated what he had heard to the other two, who looked equally confused.

"Is it a taunt?" Angela asked.

"We are about to find out." Jesse commented, nodding his head to the side. A figure in black tactical gear and helmet was slowly working through the warehouse hall, thought they had yet to see the small group.

"Should we risk trying to take them in alive?" Angela asked. Ana raised her rifle taking aim. A small pop was the only sound, hitting the figure in the back shoulder. They turned, and started to run towards the group, fire erupting from their hands.

Two more pops and Ana lowered her gun. The figure swayed and hit the floor, helmet bouncing off the ground with a crack.

"Oh look; I stopped them." Ana smirked.

"Who the hell can take more then one of those and stay upright?" Jesse looked at the two sleep dart canisters in the chestplate and back at Ana. Angela ran toward them, checking them over.

"Mein Gott!" Angela gasped, hand flying to her mouth.

"I didn't kill them!" Ana said quickly.

"What?" Jesse asked at the same time. Angela pulled down the collar of the jacket so the others could see better.

"It's an obedience collar."

The carrier was crowded, and Angela kept insisting that they shut up to let her concentrate.

"Why are we bringing in the Talon agent that was sent to kill us?" Lena asked from the cockpit.

"Talon Asset, not agent." Reinhart corrected.

"Pftt! What's the difference?" Hana asked.

"Asset implies she was used more as a tool then an agent. Just give me space to work please!" Angela demanded shooing them all away.

"How long will she stay under?" Hana asked.

"Long enough." Angela answered.

Allegra's eyes were so heavy, but it is something she is used to after missions. The head pounding ache from waking up from sedatives was familiar to her. But the smells were new. She cracked open her eyes, she wasn't in her room. She tried setting up, but found that both of her wrists were cuffed to side rails on the bed. She gave a quick jerk to test the strength.

"They are not very strong. You could break them if you tried. It's more of a trust thing." A blonde woman in a white lab coat came into the room. Allegra smirked, but relaxed back onto the bed.

"Overwatch is either incredibly trusting or incredibly stupid. I was sent to kill all of you and you just take me home with you?"

"You asked Overwatch for help, and now here we are."

"I didn't ask for help." Allegra bit out sharply.

"I told you to stop me. I assumed you would have just killed me. No that it matters anymore. Talon will follow me here." The blonde shook her head, reading at the clipboard in her hands.

"Do you often have these suicidal thoughts?" Writing something down now, concern in her eyes.

"What?" Allegra was clearly confused.

"As your health care physician I need to determine your state of mental health. Having suicidal thoughts would mean taking precautions that may interfere with the normal healing process."

Allegra growled before turning her head, completely ignoring the other woman. The doctor sighed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"She's awake." The doctor said softly on the other side of the door. Allegra listened in.

"Did she have anything to say?" A man asked.

"I didn't ask. She is my patient, and I will worry about her health before anything else."

"She works for Talon. She should be in a cell not in your medical wing." Another voice said.

"She asked for our help!" The doctor argued.

"We don't even know what she is! I doubt your safety precautions are good enough."

"Jesse, can you scent anything? There is still a large amount of suppressants and other chemicals in her blood, but maybe you can have an idea of what she might be." There was a pause, and Allegra could imagine someone scenting the air by the door.

"Sorry Angie, all I get is the scent of hot metal."

"Hot metal?"

"Don't know how else to describe it."

"No… it would make sense. She is a fire type." Allegra rolled her eyes and lost interest, choosing instead to go back to sleep. Talon would be here soon to collect her, so nothing else mattered.

Angela was in the main medical ward with Jesse and Winston, finishing their conversation unaware they had been overheard.

"There is still a huge list of species she could be." Angela frowned.

"You should spend less time worrying about what she is and more about what she is capable of. We need Jesse to question her as soon as possible." Winston argued.

"Her saftey…" Angela started, quickly interrupted by Winston.

"Her safety may be your concern, but the safety of every agent on the base is mine. Jesse can at least determine her threat level now. The other questions can wait until she's out of your bay and into one of the more secure cells." Jesse leaned back against the wall, chewing on a toothpick when Angela leveled him with a glare. As if this whole thing was his fault.

"He can come back when I'm sure the sedatives have completely worked out of her system. I'll let you know." She quickly walked past them to her small office, dismissing them.

"Why does she always try and save the lost causes?" Winston groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Lost causes don't usually come in this variety." Jesse pushed off the wall, following Winston from the room.

"You weren't there Winston. There something about this one that's not normal." Winston looked at the man and sighed.

"When is anything we do here normal?"


	2. Chapter 2

"This is Agent Mccree. He is going to ask you a few questions." Dr. Angela gestured to the man before turning and addressing him.

"Don't do anything to upset her." Allegra felt the need to roll her eyes, but glared at the man in the cowboy hat instead.

"Tell me about Talon." He asked in his southern drawl. She would have crossed her arms, but they were still chained to the bed.

"They are less my problem then they are yours. They will be coming to collect me." She grit her teeth, anger coating her words.

"They always come to collect me."

"You don't have to worry about them tracking you. The collar is sitting at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean." Angela spoke up from the corner of the room. Allegra's head snapped in her direction and her eyes grew wide.

"What?"

"I've removed the collar." Angela told her calmly. Allegra felt her head go fuzzy, so many thoughts were racing through it. She pulled her arm up quickly, breaking the cuffs chain, to bring her hand to her neck. There was no hard metal ridge, just the softness of gauze wrapped around her neck. Jesse and Angela had both tensed when she broke free, but didn't make a move to stop her.

"Removing it should have killed me." Allegra's voice was soft, hope making the angry edge from her voice disappear.

"I am a better doctor than they were scientists." Angela smiled, obviously proud of her abilities.

"It was tapped directly to your spinal column, so there are nerves that needed repairing after I removed it. I recommend not trying to walk until they heal completely. And there was some scarring. I'm sorry, but I couldn't do anything about that." Allegra no longer cared about the other people in the room. She no longer cared about being stuck here on this bed, the questions the cowboy was trying to ask her, or the doctor trying to find why she had suddenly stopped reacting. Allegra was too wrapped up in her own mind; the feel of the soft neck under her hand that she hadn't felt in a long time, and the fact that Talon wasn't coming for her. She was finally free.

She wasn't free. She had been moved from the medical room into a cell as soon as Dr. Angela had decided her nerves weren't damaged. It was a nice little room, with a bed and a table and a bathroom, but it was still a cell. And there were guards. Agents who would stand just out of sight and never say anything. Allegra ground her jaw, anger making her tense. The cowboy was back, as well as a man who simply introduced himself as 76. They wouldn't come inside the cell, just sat in chairs outside the thick plexiglass wall.

"Tell me about Talon." Jesse asked her again. Allegra gave a nasty smirk.

"What do you want to know?" She replied simply. Both men seemed surprised, as if unsure she would actually cooperate.

"As much as you can tell us." Jesse leaned back in his chair.

"It won't be much." Allegra admitted.

"They don't exactly share a lot of information with an unwilling tool."

"And how are we sure that what little information you share is accurate?" 76 asked. Allegra walked right up to the glass, bracing herself with her hands as she leaned forward to stare at the two men.

"Because I hate them. I want to watch them fall and burn."

"Is that why you asked Overwatch for help?" Jesse asked. She punched the glass, enjoying the quake it gave at the force and snarled at him, showing fang.

"I didn't ask for help!" She turned, growling low in her throat.

"I asked to be stopped. I didn't want to go from one organization's prisoner to another's. It's not my fault Overwatch is incompetent and fucked up something so simple." Running a hand across her throat, she looked back.

"I don't know where the base is, or any tactical information. When they need me, it's usually as a last resort. I get tranqed, when I wake up I'm where I need to be. I do my thing and then get tranqed again. Like I said, they aren't willing to share information with me."

"What sort of jobs do they have you do?" 76 asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"I clean up messes. I take care of things that are considered 'high priority'." Allegra answered with a bored tone. These questions were stupid and predictable, and she was tired of answering them already.

"Why only high priority missions?" 76 asked, clearly as done with this interrogation as she was.

"You don't fire a nuke at a housefly." She shot over her shoulder before closing herself off in the privacy of the bathroom.

The next day was the same, as was the next day and the next, they would question her and she would tell them the same things.

"They never told me."

"I don't have that information."

"I don't know."

She was tired of repeating herself, choosing instead to lock herself in the bathroom or to feign sleep and ignore everyone altogether. Angela would come to visit, ask her how her health was doing. Allegra also ignored the doctor, but the woman didn't let it bother her, talking to fill the void. Allegra hated it. She didn't want the kindness, the false niceness. She was their prisoner, something she was used to, but she no longer wore the collar. She was growing restless, she wanted out.

Angela was checking her neck when 76 and Jesse showed up. The doctor placed a small bandage on the back of her neck and stepped out of the cell. Allegra rubbed the scars, an unconscious act at this point, one that was quickly turning into a habit.

"Aren't you tired of all the same answers?" She sighed.

"We're not asking about Talon today, we're asking about you." 76 barked at her. Angela gave him a disapproving glance, but stayed to listen. Allegra growled under her breath.

"Why did you want to be stopped? Why ask Overwatch?" She leaned back against the glass wall.

"I was under the assumption the Overwatch was capable of stopping me." She taunted.

"We did." 76 sneered. Allegra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why did you want to be stopped?" Jesse asked again.

"I was tired."

"Of what?" He tried to get her to continue.

"Get bored of killing people?" 76 asked.

"Jack!" Angela was shocked. Anger caused goosebumps across her skin, heat coming off her body in waves. She turned to glare at the older man, eyes pitch black. They wanted her to talk, fine. She was going to talk.

"I was tired of being forced to do vile things!

I was tired of them using me and my powers to slaughter innocent people!

I was tired of being held prisoner because of what I am! Every! Day! Every day for the last 15 years I was locked away, kept in a cell so much like this one." Her anger dripped off every word as she stared right into the man's eyes.

"I was tired of fighting with them every time they demanded I kill for them. Tell me, Jack!" She spit out his name.

"Do you know how much pain your body can take before you break down, before you would literally do anything to make it stop. Because I do. I found out every time they took me out of my little cell, and each person I killed was because I wasn't stronger. Because they broke me down." She pushed away from the glass in disgust.

"I was tired of being broken." She stalked to the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Angela gave a little gasp, looking sick to her stomach.

"What did she mean?" Jack asked.

"The obedience collar?" Jesse questioned. Angela nodded.

"The collar was an older model, almost ancient. The scaring on her neck would collaborate her story; she's been wearing it for more than a decade. With it attacked directly into her spinal column it would sent out electric pulses to stimulate the pain sensors. If she didn't act according to orders, they would simply have to push a button and her whole body would experience pain without actual physical harm." She shook her head sadly.

"I can't believe Talon would stoop to such a level."

"Can't you?" Jack gritted his jaw.

"I think maybe I should take over the questions now." Jesse spoke up.

"I don't think she'll talk to you no more, after this." Angela agreed with Jesse, and Jack grimaced, but left with her. Jesse leaned back in his chair and decided to wait.

He had to wait for several hours before she finally came back out. She was actually surprised to see him. He had a cigar between his lips, unlit.

"Got a light?" He asked, and smirked at his own joke. She glared, not appreciating his humor.

"You don't mind though, do you?" He asked, pulling out a lighter. She didn't answer but he lit it anyway.

"I never properly introduced myself. The name's Jesse McCree. And yours?"

"Why are you still here?" She growled.

"You've started your story, I'm figured I'll stick around to hear the rest."

"I'm done talking." She set on her bed, ignoring him.

"That's okay Red, I'll keep you company anyway." Allegra looked at him in confusion.

"Red?" Jesse smiled, cigar between his teeth.

"Yeah, got to call you somethin', and your hair is awfully red." She brought a hand to the top of her head almost self consciously, and scowled.

"Don't call me that."

"Then tell me your name." She huffed an annoyed breath, but kept quiet. After a time Jesse spoke.

"I was 12 when I got dragged into a local gang." Jesse admitted, blowing out a smoke ring.

"I did what I had to to fit in; to survive. Did a lot of bad things. Hurt a lot of innocent people." Allegra watched him from the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything. Jesse just sit there and told her stories about his past, and she listened silently.

"How old were you when they took you?" He asked, stubbing out the last of his cigar on the bottom of his boot. She looked at her hands in her lap.

"I was 14."

"They came to my town and the next thing I knew I was in one of their reform clinics. They tried to reform me, brainwash me to share their values, to become an emotionless weapon. Maybe I was young enough they thought the teachings would take. When I didn't… they fitted me with a collar a year later."

"Got a whole lot of anger stored in you then, don'tcha." She growled at him.

"Go away. I didn't tell you so we could be all friendly. You have your information, now leave me alone." He nodded and went to leave.

"Mccree." He turned back to see her with a hand pressed against the glass, watching him.

"I want to leave."

"I know you do." He shrugged, not sure how to continue.

"I'm free from Talon, you know I won't return to them. And I've been here long enough. I want to leave."

"It's not up to me."

"Then you tell whoever it is up to that they either let me go or they fix a busted up cell. Because I'm getting out of here."

"I'll see what I can do." He promised.

"Anywhere in Europe is fine, you can just drop me off the next time you take out that pretty plane of yours." She called after his retreating form. He chuckled to himself with a shake of his head.

Two days later Jack and Angela dropped Allegra off in a quaint village in Denmark, in a field large enough to land the carrier. There was no announcement, no goodbyes. The few agents who even knew Allegra had even been on base didn't know what happened to her. She was just there one day and gone the next. Months past without anyone bothering to think about her. Then they got a call.


	3. Chapter 3

The small Talon base wasn't one of the important ones; there was no real information stored there and it was more of a temporary safehouse for agents to lay low between strikes. When Overwatch arrived, it was already up in flames. went in first, Jack following, then Jamie. Mei stayed behind to cover them. They made their way through the small base, avoiding the areas that still burned. They found a few bodies, but no survivors. Until they heard the screams. They rushed in, but came to a still, weapons raised when they saw Allegra. She held the man off the ground by his throat, his hands clawing at her and his feet kicking.

"Put him down!" Jack yelled, fixing her in his sights. Allegra lowered the man, but never let go of him.

"Why does Overwatch always want to save the bad guys?" She asked with a long sigh.

"Why are you doing this?" Jack asked, never lowering his gun.

She snarled, tightening her grip.

"Because they deserve it! Talon deserves to be punished for what they've done."

"Then give him here, we'll take him in." Jack reasoned, slowly lowering his weapon. Allegra growled low in her throat but then gave a sugary sweet smile. The man screamed, fire shooting from his mouth and eyes. She turned and threw the body down at Jack's feet.

"You can have him; I'm done with him anyway."

"Hooley Dooley!" Jamie gave a crazed giggle. Hana gave a little gag, covering her nose to the smell of burned flesh.

"Are you crazy?" Jack yelled, getting in her face.

"We didn't release you for you to start hunting them down. You were supposed to stay under the radar. Being a vigilante isn't staying under the radar!"

"Who is she?" Jamie whispered to Hana.

"She's a rogue talon agent that we ran into a few months back." Hana replied, whispering as well.

"I like her!" Jamie grinned widely.

"They ruined my life! There wasn't anything to go back to. They thought they could take my life, so I'm going to spend it hunting them down." Allegra snarled at Jack.

"I can't just let you run around going after them like this."

"Do you honestly thing you can stop me." Her voice got dangerously low.

"Oh!" Jamie waved an arm in the air to get their attention.

"Join Overwatch!" Everyone just looked at him, a mixture of confusion and astonishment at his suggestion.

"We got tha' goods to help you find 'em. And imagine the looks on those drongo's faces when they see ya' with us."

"Wow, that's actually a pretty good idea." Hana admitted. Allegra felt a smirk creep onto her face and she gave a humourless laugh.

"Sounds like fun." Jamie and Hana looked expectantly at Jack who sighed, hand kneading his brow.

Allegra followed Jack and Hana out of the carrier, seeing the rest of the base for the first time. The base she could see on the way to Jack's office anyway. Agents would pause in the hallway, stopping to watch this new player follow their commander; neither one looked particularly happy. Allegra ignored them.

"Athena, have Winston meet me in my office." Jack growled, a ping of an automated system confirming his request.

"Sit." He ordered, gesturing to a chair as he went to sit behind his desk.

"This is ridiculous." He groaned, sitting forward in his chair, elbows on the desk.

"I can't just approve you to be a new agent. There are a shit ton of protocols that I have to go to when signing on a new agent, especially a supernatural one. But I'm guessing Talon made sure there isn't any really proof that you actually exist, which will make this easier." Allegra shrugged, unsure just how thorough Talon was after they abducted her.

"If you do become an agent, there will be none of this vigilante bullshit. You are free to chose some missions, others are assigned to you. You will have a handler, they will be your partner. No use of any of your abilities in front of civilians. If you can't handle that, then you can leave." Allegra scowled. She didn't like him, and it was clear that he didn't like her.

"You are not going to needlessly kill Talon agents."

"I'll do it because it will fuck with their heads. Any extra damage is a big old bonus." She leaned back crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'll play by your rules, but the moment I get tired of playing soldier, I'm out." There was a knock on the door and Jack called whoever it was in. A large Gorilla walked through the door. Pushing glasses up his nose he looked in surprise at Allegra.

"You're the Talon agent from months ago." He said.

"And you're a talking gorilla." She replied sarcastically.

"Jack?" Winston asked, turning to the man behind the desk.

"The person behind the recent attacks on Talon." Jack gestured to her.

"An offer to join Overwatch was extended, and she has… accepted." Jack chose his words carefully.

"It wouldn't be the first vigilante we offered a position on our team." Winston gave Jack a pointed look.

"You weren't so keen on me last time I was here." Allegra pointed out.

"Last time you were here, you were a hostile enemy. If you are serious about joining Overwatch then we no longer have a problem." He sounded much more calm about it then Jack had. Allegra grit her teeth and gave them a serious look.

"Talon used me for 15 years, I thought it couldn't be any worse. After you let me go I found out that the night Talon took me, they killed my family and nearly burned down the entire town. I literally had nothing to go back to. It's bad enough that they made me a killer, but they also took away any chance I had to being normal." She gave a heavy sigh.

"If I had to be honest, I have a lot to work on personally, my anger and my desire for vengeance will most likely get me killed. I don't want to die knowing that all I ever did was hurt others." Winston gave her a long look and then nodded.

"I say yes." Jack nodded as well.

"I'll start up the paperwork. You'll be set up in the barracks, and will have to get a basic physical. Your information will be put into Athena and a handler will be chosen. Don't expect to go on any missions for a while though. You will need some training to make sure you're up to snuff."

"You doubt my skills?" Allegra asked him with a smirk.

"No, I doubt your ability to work with a team." Winston chuckled before gesturing to her.

"I'll take you to the barracks, let you pick out one for yourself."

"Before you go, I'll need your legal name, prefered call sign, and supernatural species classification." Jack told her, pulling papers from drawers. Allegra felt a jolt of fear.

"Allegra. I won't go by a call sign." She faced Jack.

"Talon took me because they found out what I was. It's not something I'm willing to share with others. I'll let the Doctor know, but it's important to me that no one else is told." Jack looked to Winston, before finally agreeing, striking it out on her file.

"Dr. Zeigler will have to inform both Winston and myself as your superior officers. But you have my word that no one else know." Allegra gave a short nod of thanks before following Winston out. They past Angela and Jesse on their way out, both stopping with surprised looks.

"Was that…?"

"Red?"


	4. Chapter 4

The rumor mill was running on all cylinders when it came to who and what Allegra was. The people who had actually met her were suddenly the most popular people on the base as everyone came to them for information. Hana would tell anyone who asked about the time Allegra was sent to kill them. And Jamie was spinning all sorts of tales about how she could breathe fire and the sound of her laughter could kill people. It was learned early that any information Jamie had was no good. Allegra hated it; she was suddenly the center of attention and it had her skin crawl. She managed to sneak around the base, finding the quiet spots to hide away and avoid people. Maybe Jack was right, she didn't know how well she could work with a team. There was a group practicing hand to hand on the mats in the training room, Allegra watching from the ceiling rafters unseen. She watched with a critical eye, learning patterns and predicting match outcomes. Athena's voice came over the intercom.

"Agent Allegra, Dr. Zeigler requests your presents in the ground floor common room."

Allegra rolled her eyes but took great pleasure in jumping down to the floor, surprising the people below. One of them even yelped, landing hard on their backside when she landed beside them.

She smirked leaving the room as more whispers started.

"You summoned me?" She asked, heavy with the sarcasm when she arrived in the common room.

"I asked, yes." Angela replied.

"I have your official stuff for you." She handed Allegra her official agent ID and keycard to get into the firing range.

"How do you like your room?" Angela asked.

"I have no complaints. It's better than my last accomodations here." She said pointedly. Angela gave the tiniest of sighs.

"Are you sleeping well?" Allegra didn't look the other woman in the eye. She hadn't managed to get more than one or two hours a night. Insomnia or nightmares usually kept her up.

"And have you been getting along with any of the other agents." Allegra raised a brow, deciding to answer in a look instead of words. Angela laughed.

"All of these rumors, I'm sure half of them think you will kill them on sight and the other half think your the coolest agent in the history of Overwatch."

"I don't like the attention." Allegra stuffed the new cards in her pocket and crossed her arms across her chest.

"It will die down soon enough. They just like something to distract them from the routine here."

"Anything else?" Allegra asked, ready to leave.

"Yes!" Angela clasped her hands together excitedly.

"I was assigned to be your handler, so we will be working together. Starting with the firing range. I can show you there now if you're not busy."

"I don't use guns." Allegra shook her head and held her hands up.

"It's a requirement for all field agents. We can't have you using your abilities in the middle of civilians. But you do get to chose what suits you best. Let us go talk to Torbjorn. He is our resident weapons expert." Allegra grimaced but followed the other woman.

Angela was right when she said Torbjorn was a weapons expert. He was almost excited at the prospect of breaking out the whole armory so she could go through it. He explained all the different types of weapons, from throwing knives to rocket launchers, and all shaped and sizes in between. He had all sorts of prototype weapons that he was tinkering with, but he wouldn't let her even touch those.

"Why can't I just punch them in the face." Allegra asked, turning over a thin throwing knife in her hands before putting it back on the table.

"I am much better at close range, hand to hand stuff." She admitted, looking at the other weapons on the table.

"Well, we can find you a close range weapon. How's yar aim?" Torbjorn asked. Allegra looked back at him and Angela.

"I've never shot a gun."

"Talon didn'a train you on gun handling?" Torbjorn asked skeptically.

"I did a good enough job at killing their men without being armed. So, no." She rolled her eyes. Torbjorn rubbed his hands together and picked up the first gun in line.

"Pay attention, I'm only going ta go through this once." He then proceeded to explain everything there was. He went over loading, cleaning, and gun safety. He dismantled and put several different types of guns back together. He let her feel the weight of each one, and went over the pros and cons of different sizes and calibers. The best part was that he didn't coddle her about it. He only went through it once, and answered each of her comments with serious answers. It actually took quite a few hours before she finally made her decision, Angela leaving after Allegra became absorbed in the lecture. Holding the slim gun, she eyes Torbjorn.

"Can you customise this for me?" She asked him.

"Depends on what you want out of it."

"I want flames etched into the sides. And maybe a bright red grip."

"Purely cosmetic then?" He gave a chuckle.

"I can barely aim it right as it is, heaven forbid you add other things to it." He laughed outright.

"Yeah, I can make that for you. You use that one for practice for now."

The routine was getting to her. Wake up. Watch training. A lonley lunch. Target practice in the firing range. Avoiding people. A lonely dinner. Hiding in her room until bed. Then sitting in her room wishing she could actually fall asleep and stay that way. If people thought Allegra was angry and stand-offish before, she was twice as bad now. Instead of just ignoring everyone she started snapping at them, anger and sarcasm her only tone when talking to others. Jack and Winston had certainly noticed, and asked Angela to find out what was bothering her. When Angela was finally able to track her down in the firing range, Allegra was unloading into training bots, but not doing very well. Allegra growled, and slammed her gun onto the loading counter with a snarl.

"Is everything alright?" Angela asked after making sure the gun was down.

"What makes you ask?" Allegra growled low in her throat. She ran a hand roughly through her hair and turned her back to the targets.

"I'm concerned." Angela said, stepping forward.

"You seem to be growing more hostile, and I want to help. Can you tell me what's bothering you?" Allegra looked at the blonde woman, who was very clearly sensere in her concern. Allegra felt bad, Angela had done nothing but help her and she was making it difficult.

"There are so many similarities. Talon; Overwatch, the similarities between the two when it come to routine is enough to make my stomach turn." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"The training, the shooting, even the scheduled meal times and the way you brief on missions reminds me so much of Talon. I know the outcome of those missions are drastically different, but it still… It reminds me of my time there."

"I guess it is hard for me to remember we are all soldiers." Angela laughed.

"Most of us here have an outlet; something that takes us away from that routine. I have medicine. Something I have always loved to do."

"I don't…" Allegra's brow furrowed.

"I don't have anything like that."

"But you used to. The things you used to love to do when you were younger could still be something of interest to you. And you could always ask some of the others to join what they do. Hana is always loaning out her games. Or Ana could help with your aim. If you ask Reinhart, he might teach you how to knit." Angela laughed.

"And having these hobbies don't mess with your performance?"

"I think having them actually helps. We may be soldiers, but we are also people. Having individuality is something that Talon wouldn't understand."

"I'll try, but I don't know if I'm capable of enjoying myself anymore."

"All I can ask is that you try." Angela smiled.

"You can head to the nearest town, maybe do some shopping, pick a few things up that can help occupy your time."


	5. Chapter 5

Oh course they didn't let her head to town alone, having two agents accompany her. But thankfully, both were quiet, choosing to travel mostly in silence. They had introduced themselves before they left as Genji and his handler, Zenyatta , who was a monk. Allegra watched them from the back seat as Genji drove them almost 2 hours to the nearest town. Genji dropped them off in front of a little strip mall and went to find a parking spot.

"Is there anything in particular that you looking for on your trip today?" Zenyatta asked her.

"No. I'm just looking." She replied as Genji joined them.

"Then I hope you find what you are looking for." Zenyatta smiled at her. They agreed to meet back in exactly one hour. Then the two went their own way with a goodbye from Zenyatta and a two finger salute from Genji. With a Overwatch credit card burning a hole in her back pocket, she started looking through store windows. She made several stops. She picked up some more clothes, and visited a leather worker to commision some mission gear. She stopped by an art store and picked up some supplies, and her last visit was to a grocery store to pick up some snacks and supplies. With an arm full of bags she went to meet the other two.

"It seems that you did find something after all." Zenyatta commented as they walked up.

"Yeah, I did find a few things." She said with a shrug.

"Are we ready to leave then?" Zenyatta asked.

"I need to stop by the smoke shop." Genji said.

"You go ahead, I will stay here." Zenyatta said. Genji nodded and jogged off to the shop, Allegra took a second before following him. He was looking through one of the aisles at incense.

"I needed to pick up more for meditation. And I promised Jesse I would pick up his order while in town." Genji explained, though she didn't ask. She took a package from the shelf and gave it a testing sniff, giving a hoarse cough at the strength. Genji chuckled, and gave her a different package.

"This one is not as strong. For those of us with… more sensitive noses." She took it, actually enjoying the scent.

"This is Zenyatta's favorite." Genji showed her the package in his hands.

"Do you meditate together?" She asked.

"Yes, sometimes. There are times when I find it necessary to meditate by myself." He moved towards the front counter with his choices, Allegra deciding to purchase some incense herself.

"Why?" She asked.

"I meditate to release unwanted emotion. Zenyatta was my teacher before he was my handler. He taught me to release my anger, to find peace. Meditation helps." He paid for his purchases and Allegra took her turn with the cashier. They left the store together.

"I don't think it was coincidence that Angela had you two come with me today." Allegra raised an eyebrow at the man. He laughed.

"It was not. Angela is a smart woman, but she is not too subtle. She thought that perhaps Zenyatta's teachings would calm some of the rage that haunts you."

"No offence, but I don't want a learn the ways of a monk. I don't think I would be very good at it." She replied sarcastically.

"Only the calming process of meditation. No one expects you to vow in the ways of the Shimbali." Genji laughed.

"The Shimbali is a great spiritual teaching. It has enlightened many." Zenyatta hummed, catching the last of the conversation as they reached him.

"Of course." Genji said in false seriousness. He showed Zenyatta his purchase as they all walked to the car. Allegra spent the trip home thinking of all the things in her bags, and all the things she was going to try when they arrived back on base. She also thought of the incense she bought, and wondered if Angela's plan to get her to talk with Zenyatta about meditation was a good one. If Genji could meditate his anger away, maybe she could too.

It took two days of locking herself in her room 'finding herself' before Allegra was comfortable enough to take her grocery supplies to the common kitchens. It was at 3 in the morning, but at least she was there. Cutting on the light above the stove, she laid out all of her ingredients. Thinking back far into her memory, she started to put everything together. She lost track of time as she made the bread that her mother used to make every Sunday. She had flour up to her elbows and she had started to hum under her breath as she pulled another loaf from the oven. Three fresh loaves already set on the counter.

"It smells good in here!" Allegra startled, dropping an empty bowl and turning with a warning snarl. Lucio held his hands up and took a step back. He was still in his pajamas.

"Woah, sorry! Didn't mean to surprise you." Allegra picked up the bowl, and went back to cleaning up.

"I didn't expect anyone to be awake." She admitted.

Lucio came into the kitchen, jumping up to sit on a clean counter.

"I like to wake up early." Lucio said with a shrug. Allegra checked the time, surprised to see it was almost 6.

"I'm almost done, then you can have the kitchen." She put the fresh bread on a big wooden cutting board.

"No, it's cool. Pouring a bowl of cereal isn't exactly going to take up the whole kitchen."

Allegra finished putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and looked over at Lucio watching her.

"You can have some; if you want." She gestured at the warm bread.

"Really?!" He grinned widely.

"Aww Man! I haven't had fresh bread like this since I was small." Allegra shrugged, washing her hands.

"It might not even be good. I haven't baked in a long time."

"Naw; it'll be great. Thanks." Allegra nodded before quickly making her way back to her room. Her heart was beating so fast; embarrassed at being caught. It wasn't until she had laid down before she even realised that it was the first time she had a conversation that had no sarcasm with someone besides Angela.

When Allegra woke up, it was closer to lunch. She looked at her gun sitting on her desk but decided to stay away from target practice. She didn't want to coop herself up in her room anymore, and she felt too pent up. Changing into her new comfortable clothes she grabbed a water bottle and left the base. Putting her stuff down at the hangar door she made her way down to the rocky beach and starting running. It released her tension and let her concentrate. She had managed to get a good amount of sleep, and while she couldn't remember if she had dreamed, at least it wasn't nightmares. Allegra wondered if it was because she had managed to do something for herself, something that didn't involve violence. Could she even consider today as progress; after all it was only one day. When her muscles started to burn, she turned and made her way back to base. Arriving a little out of breath and with a stitch starting in her side, she snatched up her water bottle and gratefully drained it. She was gathering up the rest of her stuff when she spotted a few people on the catwalk above her. Lucio gave an enthusiastic wave.

"Thanks for breakfast! You make the best bread." He hollered down to her. Jesse laughed next to him, and tipped his hat in the form of a hello. Allegra felt the slight flush of embarrassment. Of course Lucio had told the others. They probably all came down to breakfast and he spilled the beans, but then again she hadn't asked him not to. She quickly turned, going into the hangar out out of their sight.

"Aww, man! Is she mad or something?" Lucio asked the taller man. Jesse shook his head with a chuckle.

"Naw, I think she was embarrassed, is all." He took out a cigar and stuck it between his teeth.

"She probably isn't used to folks complimenting her."

"Damn." Lucio slumped his shoulders.

"She had it pretty bad, huh."

"Yeah, she did. She's tryin, and she'll get there eventually." Jesse nodded, lighting his cigar.


	6. Chapter 6

Allegra stormed off of the air carrier, flames licking at her arms. She couldn't contain her anger.

"Hold it right there!" Winston yelled after her.

"I've just spent the last 3 hours being yelled at. I think I've had enough!" Allegra growl, turning towards him with a sneer.

"Jack still wants your mission statement." Winston said.

"It was successful; that's all he needs to know." She snarled, the other agents slowly leaving the carrier as well.

"You lost control. You used your powers, and civilians were almost caught in the crossfire."

"Everything turned out fine. Get off my fucking back!"

"You are going to be suspended from active duty until you learn to control your powers in the field."

"Fine!" Allegra snarled, throwing her grab bag down. She stalked off, gritting her teeth. Her very first mission and she had screwed up. She could admit that to herself that. She wasn't used to holding back when on the field, she never had to before. When she was out there, her anger got the better of her. She didn't mean to, but she wouldn't make excuses for herself. Angela quickly caught up to her, finally able to speak with her since they started the flight back to base.

"I thought you were doing better. After your trip into town, you seemed like… like maybe you were getting better." Allegra rolled her eyes.

"I guess it takes more than a few days and a hobby to cure all those years of hatred and loathing." She snarked.

"But we can figure this out." Angela insisted.

"There is nothing for you to figure out!" Allegra snapped, jerking to a stop.

"You are all trying so hard to fix me, but I need to find all the broken parts first." She sighed at seeing the hurt in the doctor's eyes, anger fading.

"I am not used to other people caring enough to offer to help me with my problems. It's too overwhelming for me, I don't know how to handle it all."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." She added. Angela nodded, but didn't say anything as she walked away. Allegra ran her fingers through her hair roughly and groaned. Having to deal with other people's feelings was going to be the death of her. Sticking her hands deep into her pockets, she slumped her way to Jack's office. He was already expecting her, holding the door open and giving his head a jerk to order her inside.

"You fucked up." He told her, moving around the desk to sit back in his chair.

"Eloquently put." Allegra said sarcastically.

"Winston has already informed me of what happened."

"So why am I even here?"

"You were supposed to have trained with your service revolver. According to the other agents on the mission, you ignored it completely. Choosing instead to use close combat, and losing control of your powers in the process."

"You're right, you do know what happened. So, why. Am. I. Here?" Jack gave an exasperated sigh and calmly braced his forearm against his desk to lean towards her.

"Punishment." Allegra shot out of her chair, face twisted in surprise.

"What?!"

"During your suspension, you will be required to have shooting practice everyday with Agent Amari, and a hand to hand practice with Agent Zaryanova until you are able to completely control your abilities. We can't have another incident like the one today." Allegra clenched her jaw, but didn't protest. This was getting off easy, extremely easy compared to punishments she had in the past.

"You have the rest of the day to recover from the mission. You can go." Allegra gave him an ironic salute and slammed the door on her way out. She was headed towards her room, but changed her mind, doing a quick turn. Only to stop again. She was no longer angry, but she was still worked up. She needed something to do before she cumbusted again. Making up her mind, she went to change out of her field gear and then headed to the community kitchens. With a bowl of egg whites in her arm, she paced the tiny kitchen as she whipped them quickly. It was as she paced that she saw someone standing, watching her from the doorway.

"Whatcha' makin'?" Jesse asked, leaning against the door frame. Allegra stiffened, a little uncomfortable with being watched, but she pushed past it, continuing whipping.

"Angel food cake." She replied. Jesse whistled.

"Damn, that sounds so good." He smiled, coming into the kitchen to watch over her shoulder. She inched away from him, caught off guard by his lack of personal space.

"What are you doing?"

"Watchin'. Does that bother you?"

"Yes." She told him flatly. He laughed, and gave her more room, but didn't leave. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she put the rest of the batter together and put the cake in the oven. He chatted away the whole time, mostly about his favorite things to eat, and all the weird food he's tried from his travels.

"Why do you talk so much?" She asked him, propping her hip on the counter. He stopped and thought, before giving a big shoulder shrug.

"Never really put much thought into it. A lot of people have asked me that though."

"No, I mean, why are you talking to me."

"You had a bad day; thought I would check in with ya' to make sure you were doin' ok." Allegra was completely taken by surprise, eyes widening. She didn't know how to respond.

"Told you something smelled good!" Hana pulled Lucio into the kitchen, sniffing at the air.

"You making more bread?" Lucio asked her.

"Angel food cake." Jesse answered. Hana jumped up and down, clapping.

"Aww Yeah! I wonder if we have any strawberries. Cake and strawberries is the best." She went to the large fridge to dig around. With a sound of excitement she pulled out a carton of fresh strawberries and presented it to the others in the room.

"Can you pretty please put strawberries on top?" Hana asked, handing Allegra the carton. Allegra took them, putting them on the counter with a clean cutting board and knife.

"Go ahead." She gestured to the teenager.

"Me?" Hana's eyes widened. Allegra crossed her arms.

"I'm not doing all the work." Lucio took Hana's place routing through the fridge and then the freezer. He found what he was looking for, placing a tub of whipped topping next to the strawberries. Allegra curled her lip.

"No." She took the tub and tossed it in the trash. Turning she gathered ingredients, placing them in a bowl. She handed Lucio the bowl and a fresh wisk.

"You want whipped cream, you have to make it." Lucio looked at the whisk and started stirring.

"When will I know it's done?" He asked.

"When it looks like whipped cream. And you'll need to go faster." Lucio nodded, putting real enthusiasm into making the whipped cream. Hana laughed from her position at the counter, knife in hand. Jesse chuckled as well, glad that he wasn't given a job. Allegra was growing uncomfortable. One friendly presence had been a little too much, and now there was three of them. She fidgeted uncomfortably before deciding it would be better for her to leave. She didn't do friendly.

"The cakes on a timer, let it cool before you put that whipped cream on it."

"You're not gunna' stay and have some?" Jesse asked, stealing a strawberry from Hana, who glared at him.

"I don't like cake." Allegra shook her head, ducking quickly out of the kitchen. She was walking down the hall when her name was called. She gave a swift pivot, barely holding back a snarl. Lucio held out a little metal rectangle, when she didn't take it he gave it a little wiggle.

"Here, it's for you." She reached out cautiously, taking it from him and looked it over. It was an i-pod.

"I thought, maybe, you could use it when you're doing your thing. Like when you run, or whatever."

"Why did you get me this?" She asked, looking at the tiny device.

"Because sometimes the silence can be too loud." Lucio gave her a knowing look.

"Music is healing, especially to the soul. I'm kind of an expert. If you need help loading any music on it, just let me know." He gave her a wave and disappeared back down the hallway. Allegra just stood there, looking down the empty hallway for a few minutes. Then, slipping the ipod into her pocket, she headed towards her room. Setting heavily on her bed, the ran her hands through her hair. The day had started out as shit, but the others; their easy friendliness had made the day get better. Sure, she was feeling awkward and unsure, but at least she wasn't angry. Fishing the small music player from her pocket, she gave it a long look.


	7. Chapter 7

Back slamming painfully against the mat, the air rushed out of her lungs. Allegra snarled, the large woman above her had been tossing her around the larger part of ten minutes. Rolling back to her feet, she rushed forward, only to have her feet kicked out from under her and she crashed hard, her teeth clacking loudly as she hit the ground.

"I thought you said you were good at this?" Zarya raised a pink brow, clearly unimpressed with Allegra's talent at hand to hand combat. Anger burned right under the skin, combined with pain and humiliation as she got back to her feet once more.

"I usually don't have to deal with an opponent the size of a god damn house!" Zarya gave a chuckle, not at all offended by Allegra's snarky comment.

"Try harder." She commanded, easily getting Allegra into a hold, arms twisted behind her back and knees to the mat. Allegra couldn't get out of the hold, but tried her hardest.

"Tap." Zarya told her, pulling her arm slightly. Her shoulder burned, but she couldn't break away from the stronger woman, and her bad temper flares. Zarya released her quickly as flames burst into life. Allega punched the floor mats as she stood, the flames along her arms and back not dying out.

"We will go again." Zatya gave a curt nod and waited.

"No!" Allegra snarled, trying to calm down.

"We've done this for days! Kicking my ass isn't going to help me learn control."

"But you are doing better." Zarya assured her.

"Not good enough!" Allegra snapped. The flames got bigger, and Allegra tried shaking off her arms. When it didn't work she gave a growl and stormed out of the workout room. She was angry at herself. Every hit, every pin and loss played on repeat in her mind. Failure after failure flashing through her mind and causing her blood to boil. She was past the point of calming down, so she headed off base before she blew something up. Choosing one of her running paths, she took off at a sprint, the whole while yelling at herself in her head. It shouldn't be that difficult to get her powers under control. So why was it taking her so long to get the hang of it. A flashback of herself from her time with Talon caught her off guard. She snarled, her heart gave a painful jerk and she almost missed a step. They never wanted her to be in control. They wanted a monster that was capable of wiping away anything in it's path. Hot tears started to fill her eyes and she growled. Running wasn't helping her, maybe she just needed to run faster. Reaching the crest of the hill she landed instead on four paws. It had been a long time since she had been in this form, but it was fast, and she didn't need to think beyond the feel of the earth giving way beneath her claws as she raced forward. Her wolf form was large, but sleek, making her nothing more than a black blur that raced through the trees. She ran until her chest heaved, legs heavy and fur soaked with a layer of sweat. Panting, her long tongue flopped comically out of her jaws, she slowed to a slow trot. Allegra didn't want to head back just yet, she would have been perfectly alright staying in this form for the rest of the day away from everyone. She entered a clearing accidentally, and immediately tensed, going into a defensive crouch. Genji was in a defensive position of his own, quite surprised by the black wolf that stumbled on his and Zenyatta's meditation. A growl rumbled low in her throat as Genji took a step forward, placing himself between her and his handler.

"That is no way to welcome our guest Genji." Zenyatta have a hum, not even looking toward the other two.

"Master?" Genji questioned, confusion working it's way across his face.

"She is free to meditate with us if she wished." Zenyatta replied, though it was as if he addressed Allegra and not his student. Genji gave her one last once over before setting back down. Allegra gave a scoff, straightening out of her crouch. She didn't realise anyone else came up this far from base, and she certainly didn't expect an invitation for meditation. Walking back to the forest, she stopped, looking back over her shoulder. Then, laying down in some underbrush, she watched the two sit in comfortable silence. They left after a while, Zenyatta waving to her. She gave another scoff, laying her muzzle on her paws. It was barely half an hour later when the sun started to go down and Allegra stood up, giving herself a shake. She changed back into her human form and began making her way back down to the base. Only to run into Zenyatta, who had been waiting for her.

"You were more then welcome to do more then watch." Zenyatta kept pace with her, hands behind his back.

"I'm not really cut out for all that hippie stuff. No offence." Zenyatta shrugged, not offended.

"It is possible to meditate for more than just inner peace. And you don't have to be a hippie in order to enjoy it" He gave her a thoughtful look, cocking his head to the side.

"Am I a hippie?" He asked. Allegra rolled her eyes, and felt amusement.

"I don't know if you can be. You're already a monk."

"I would much rather just be a monk." He chuckled.

"I don't think sitting around, clearing my mind is going to help me."

"If you let me, I am sure that I can find some form of meditation that can." She gave him a speculating stare, unsure of why he would offer his help. But then again, that was pretty much what everyone seemed to be doing since she joined.

"I'm not promising anything. But Angela has been hinting at this so you might as well try." They were almost back to the base when Allegra asked the question that had been bugging her.

"How did you know it was me?" Zenyatta laughed.

"Most of the people here have multiple forms, you learn to tell a person by their aura, and not their physical shape."

"My aura?" Allegra rolled her eyes.

"My apologies. That was very hippie of me, wasn't it." Allegra gave short laugh, his joke catching her off guard. He looked extremely pleased with himself after that. Shooting him a scowl that she couldn't keep from turning into a smile, she warned.

"Keep that to yourself. People find out my laugh doesn't strike you dead and they'll all be trying to tell me jokes."

"I will take it to my grave." He promised.

"I will come find you when I believe I have come up with a plan to help you." He gave her a wave and went his separate way. Grinding her palms into her eyes, she groaned. She couldn't believe that yet another person wanted to help her. What was it about the agents of Overwatch that made them all so self sacrificing? Heading back to her room she made a mental note to apologize to Zarya about storming off. The woman could already throw her around, it would be best if she wasn't upset with her.


	8. Chapter 8

Allegra was heading to the firing range the next day, gun strapped to her thigh when she smelled cigar smoke. Gritting her teeth, she entered the range knowing who she would find; only one person on base smoked that particular cigar. Ana and Jesse were talking, the practice dummies already set up and waiting for her next lesson. Jesse spotted her first.

"Morning Red, haven't seen you in the kitchen for a few days. How've you been holdin' up?"

"You cook?" Ana asked, seeming surprised.

"Even better, she bakes." He smiled at her, and she gave him a suspicious glance.

"Why are you here?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"Jesse will be taking over for me today. My Reinhart and I have a mission. Don't worry, he was trained by the best." She gave the tall man a pat on the cheek and left to get ready for her mission.

"She means her." Jesse pointed out, laying out extra ammo. Allegra rolled her eyes.

"I guessed as much." He laughed, and while she rolled her eyes again, there was less irritation and sarcasm behind it.

"Show me what'cha got." He gestured to the dummies in front of them. So she did. Unloading her clip, then reloading and doing it again, she put several holes in each of the dummies. And while not all of them were where they should have been, every bullet fired hit something.

"Not too shabby. Now you just have to actually use the gun while in the field."

"Yeah," She scowled at him.

"All I have to do is ask all the bad guys to stand nice and still so I can try and hit them."

"Ain't satisfied with stationary targets, huh?"

"They are not exactly practical. But they have their uses; for beginners like me."

"We can always hop over to the other range. I know Hanzo likes to keep it set up for his practice usually about this time. You can see what it's like for the more advanced of us." Allegra cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest.

"Are you assuming I can't handle myself?"

"Well you said so yourself, you'ra beginner." Narrowing her eyes at him, she placed her weapon calmly in her holster.

"Lead the way, Spurs." Never ready to back down from a challenge. His eyebrows shot up and a large lopsided grin appeared.

"Spurs?" He looked down at his boots and gave his heel a tap, setting the spurs jangling. Allegra flushed, embarrassed when she realised she had called him that.

"I… You call me a name. I just…." She stammered defensively. She quickly shut up, feeling even more foolish. She huffed, refusing to look at him as her flush got darker.

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's cute." She growled.

"Will you just take me to the other frickin range please!" Jesse laughed, but waved for her to follow him. Scanning his ID into the range door, it opened.

"Hey Han, you just about finished in here?" Jesse called out. The archer was in fact packing away his bow, giving the other man a nod in affirmative. Holding out his hand with a dramatic flare, he ushered her in.

"Give it a whirl." Hanzo gave the cowboy a glance over, then gave one to Allegra as well.

"Is this wise?" He asked Jesse. The other man shrugged.

"Probably?" Allegra ignored then to take a look at the larger range. It was more of a simulation stage, with several props like buildings sides and ledges in order to run around and hide. It looked complicated. And while she was talking big when they were standing in the other range, this was most likely going to be way too difficult for her.

"Ready?" Jesse called, before hitting the go switch.

"What?! I wasn't going to actually do it." Allegra swiveled quickly, eyes wide. But he couldn't hear her over the noise of the target drones flooding into the area. Allegra ducked behind the nearest prop and glared over at Jesse, only to see Hanzo already scolding the other man. She went to make her way over to them, but had to quickly duck back down when the drones started to shoot at her.

"Holy Shit! They have weapons!" Allegra screamed, pulling out her own.

"They ain't lethal. They just hurt like hell if you get hit." Jesse called to her as Hanzo took over the controls, trying to shut down the simulation. Allegra groaned. It would be much easier to just toast them all and walk away, but she was trying to learn how to not do that. With a quick peek, she aimed and fired from around the corner. She actually winged one, smirking as it turned in a half circle sparking.

"Allegra." Jesse called to her. Standing up straighter she turned, ready to make a run for it. And got shot in the head, square between the eyes. Jesse was right, it hurt; a lot. She fell to the floor, ending up staring at the ceiling. Giving an angry sigh, she lay there until the sounds of the drones shut off, Hanzo finally managing to shut them down. Jesse hurried, leaning over her to check and see if she was okay.

"Damn, Sugar! Are you alright?"

"I hate you." She replied, face deadpanned. He helped her to her feet, apologising over and over. Holstering her gun she gave him a glare.

"I'm telling Ana you got me shot." Actual panic sparked in the cowboys face.

"Please don't! You'll be alright…" He reassured her, giving her a shaky smile.

"And Angela." Allegra responded, turning and walking away. She gave Hanzo a nod of thanks as she left, hearing him address Jesse.

"I told you it was unwise."

When she told Angela about the fiasco in the firing range, Angela was plenty worried about her possibly being injured but she was more impressed with how Allegra handled the situation.

"You controlled yourself extremely well." Angela smiled at her.

"I was shot in the head." Allegra reminded her.

"Well, yes. But you initially fired with your service weapon and not your powers. Isn't that what you have been working on?" Allegra rolled her eyes, trying to throw off the embarrassment at the doctors praise.

"Others are trying to help." She said reluctantly, forcing the words through her gritted teeth. It wasn't something she was sure she wanted to tell, but she knew it would make Angela very happy.

"Jack told me that Ana and Zarya were instructed to help you with training and control." Angela nodded to herself.

"No, I mean…" She gave a big sigh.

"Lucio gave me an ipod so I can listen to music during my runs, and Zenyatta is going to… meditate… with me." Angela's face broke into a giant smile.

"That's such good news. No wonder you're doing better." She stopped, looking at Allegra with the critical eyes of a doctor.

"It makes you uncomfortable." She noticed.

"I'm not used to it. Being around people who treat me as an equal, who want to take an effort in my life is… weird. I don't know if I can do the whole friends thing."

"Start with comrades, friendships are what happen afterward. And if they make you uncomfortable, just let them know. They will back off a little." Allegra left soon after that; she still had training with Zarya that day. She made very little progress and ended up throwing herself on her bed when she finally escaped the large woman. Cranky and sore, she was more than ready to just fall asleep. But a knock on her door had her tensing, and shooting a glare. Cautiously she got up, opening the door. Jesse stood there, looking very awkward as he held out a plate with what seemed to be a half dozen hockey pucks.

"I came to say that I'm real sorry about earlier. I shouldn'a started up the firin' range without your say so. And I'm sorry ya' got hurt." He handed her the plate, which she stared at, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

"You said you wasn'a fan of cake, so I made ya' some cookies." Raising a brow at what he called cookies, she shot him a look, but couldn't help but look back down at the disaster that was his apology. They could have been cookies; if you squinted. They had been in the oven too long, and were hard as rocks, but the image of the cowboy wearing an apron as he tried to find his way around the kitchen caused her bad mood to disappear. Warmth filled her chest. A small chuckle worked it's way up her throat. She tried to hold it back, but surprising even herself, she burst out laughing. Jesse just looked stunned.

"These are the worst cookies I have ever seen." She laughed, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey now!" Jesse took offence. Allegra waved a hand, trying to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry, but they are." She shook her head.

"It was very… nice of you. I've never had anyone make cookies for me as an apology." Jesse's face softened, and he scratched at the back of his neck.

"I guess it's the thought that counts, right." She returned his plate of apology baked goods back to him.

"Apology accepted. But I'm not eating those." He took it back with a sigh.

"Probably for the best. I think I forgot to add sugar anyway." She rolled her eyes.

"Goodnight McCree. And thank you." She gave him a smile that, if she had been anyone else, could have been sweet.

Yeah, goodnight." He replied, but her door was already shut.


	9. Chapter 9

Zenyatta had been pretty quick to find her, interrupting her breakfast. After apologizing for having used Athena to track her down, he explained that he may have come up with something that could help her if she could only fit him into her schedule. Knowing that the sooner her powers seemed under control, the sooner Jack would put her back on the mission roster, she promised him that she could find time that day. And here she was, sitting with him inside a spare room that he and Genji had renovated into a meditation room. She was anxious, tapping her fingers in no real rhythm. Zenyatta lit an incense before turning to Allegra.

"I believe that trying new things for control is not going to benefit you." Allegra scowled, unsure what they were going to get done if he didn't want to try new techniques.

"You need to think about your past." Allegra growled low, unwilling to even consider it.

"Not with Talon. But before." Zenyatta quickly inputted, hoping to keep her anger low.

"You were young when you were taken, but were you too young for your family to keep from teaching you?"

"My family?" Allegra's voice was quiet as she tried to remember back to her family. Her father was proud of her, the little scrapper that she was back then, and was ready to teach her all about their past. Her mother had been upset, arguing that she was still too young.

"Before many supernaturals gain their abilities, their loved ones teach them measures of control." Zenyatta tried explaining.

"I know." Allegra shook head to clear it.

"I…" She leveled Zenyatta with a careful stare, unsure of whether she was comfortable with talking to him. Could she trust him? Sensing her hesitation, he gestured to the room around them.

"It is sound proof. Anything you share here will remain confidential." Angela had made it clear that Zenyatta could help, so maybe he could be trustworthy as well.

"You won't tell anyone?" She asked him to be sure.

"You have my word." The word of a monk was certainly something. She sighed, before taking a deep breath.

"I take after my father, it's his family that passed the supernatural genes to me. I grew up being told stories about our kind. When I started showing signs of my abilities my father and my uncles wanted to teach me, but my mother was human, and was worried that I was too young. I was never really taught how to control my fire, because it was never an issue. My family kept me grounded, and the stories of my people kept me… they kept me safe, I guess."

"Those stories comforted you?" Zenyatta asked.

"Yeah. Being a species that is so misunderstood, the legends make you out to be monsters. But knowing the truth, it makes it easier. No matter what everyone else believed, you knew what you truly were. The purpose of your powers." Allegra grimaced, and hugged herself tightly.

"Until someone gets their hands on you and makes you the monster that everyone feared you to be." She rubbed her throat subconsciously.

"And why can't those stories bring you comfort now?"

"I haven't thought of them in a long time."

"You know, stereotypes may exist, but they are not always true, and they do not define who you are." He held a single finger up.

"I am a monk; yet I understand that violence can not always be avoided. Genji may be a dragon, and he may like shiny things, but I have not known him to kidnap any princesses. And you…" He gestured to her.

"I might not know what you are, but I know you are not a monster. Monsters do not regret, and monsters do not work towards redemption." Allegra felt tears prickling behind her eyes and her throat go tight. What he said, his acceptance, all of the agents at Overwatch acceptance. Did she really deserve it? She had told herself that she joined Overwatch to get revenge on Talon, that it wasn't about redemption or gaining forgiveness for all the bad things she had done. But there was regret; she regretted everything Talon had made her do.

"I'm not selfless, and I don't want redemption." She denied aloud.

"I don't deserve forgiveness. I'm here to stop Talon, but only because of what they did to me." Zenyatta considered her confession with a hum.

"Will you share a story, one of the ones your father would tell you?" He asked. Allegra tried to remember. It had been so long, and she hadn't thought of those stories in what seemed to be forever. They were just another part of her childhood that she she had locked away. It took a while, but Zenyatta remained silent and patient.

"Beings involved with death are always made out to be evil, because people fear death." She started slowly and quietly.

"But there fear is understandable, because death can be a scary thing. And it is the job of…" She stalled.

"It's their job to protect the souls on their journey to the other realm. The good souls pass easily, peacefully through. It's the others that you have to watch out for. Because there is evil in the world." Allegra was calm, the scent of the incense soothing her as she retold the story her father had told many times.

"A truly evil soul will try to trick and corrupt others, trying anything to escape the fate that they know is waiting. There was a spirit that escaped, and possessed the body of an innocent girl. There was nothing that the mortals could do, they were all fooled by the innocent face. The spirit feared what was hunting it, and told stories of my kind to try and make the mortals fear them, drive them out if they were seen nearby. So now the evil soul was protected, and it's darkness was starting to eat away at the pure soul of the girl. So we… they… were granted the powers of flame. A special flame that could burn away evil. Being able to command the flames, to use them to punish the evil souls. Using those flames to burn the damned soul away from the innocent. The girl was left safe, but the image of the girl being hunted, being burned had cemented the fear into the minds of the mortals and we were forever shunned and feared." Allegra sighed, hugging herself.

"Mindless monsters who can wield the power of fire, to consume anything they wish, it was those false stories that made Talon believe they had found the perfect weapon. Thousand of years of lies led to the slaughter of my family." She found herself growing angry.

"The ignorance of mortals and their false stories have ruined so many lives."

"It is not fair." Zenyatta agreed.

"Fear and ignorance are no one's friend, but will unfortunately always be found within humanity."

"Then how do you do it? How do any of the humans here handle it?" She asked him.

"We have accepted that there are things that are more powerful than ourselves. And we wish to protect the weak from the more powerful sources that have less than honorable intentions."

"How noble of you." She snapped sarcastically.

"It is not noble. We are all as selfish as you claim to be. Everyone here has been faced with the supernatural, many even hurt by it. But we do not let it cloud our opinion. One bad apple does not mean the whole tree is rotten." Allegra wasn't sure how to respond. She knew so little about the fellow agents, to think that maybe their backstories were not as bright as she had assumed made her pause.

"They have made peace with their pasts?"Allegra asked.

"We have. It only further strengthens our resolve to protect others from similar incidents."

Allegra shook her head, confusion clouding her mind.

"Patience." Zenyatta tried to calm her.

"We are not here today for you to dismiss your past; that takes time and must be done one your own. We are here for control of your powers. Which your past can help with."

"Control first." Allegra agreed, glad that she wasn't going to feel rushed. With as much fucked up past as she had, she thought it would be a while until she was over it.

"Pieces of your father's story can help you. Focusing on them while in times of extreme stress or anger; anything which weakens your control, can help you remind yourself."

"A mantra?" Allegra asked with a raised brow. Zenyatta cocked his head thinking of it, then smiled.

"I guess it is, yes."

"What parts?" She wondered.

"There were moments in the story that I believe will keep you grounded. They will remind you of your purpose, that you are more than just your anger." Allegra nodded, understanding the concept, even if it seemed a little ridiculous.

"You were granted the power of flames, a control in order to fulfil your purpose. The power to protect the innocent, and the power to punish the evil. How did the story put it? The damned souls?" Zenyatta gave it more though before getting up and grabbing a slip of paper and a pen. He spoke aloud as he wrote.

"I control my fire. Flames are mine to command. My powers will punish the wicked. Burning the souls of the damned." He handed it over to her.

"I may seem a little dramatic, but I believe it will work. Whenever you feel control slipping, or even if you wish to practice meditation when on your own, repeat this to yourself. If anything it will remind you of your family and the control they wished to teach you." Allegra looked over the paper, silently going over it in her head. It did have a flare of drama to it, but it did make her chest feel lighter.

"Thank you." Allegra looked the monk in the eye. She not only appreciated his help, but also the fact that he was willing to offer it without trying to pry for other information.


	10. Chapter 10

The next week went remarkably well. Her aim still wasn't the best, and Zarya still managed to kick her ass every day, but she had not burst into flames, even though her temper flared. And Jack had noticed. She had been informed by Athena that she was being put back onto the mission roster, so she needed to make sure her go bag and gear were ready at all times. It felt pretty good, being in control. Sure she was still awkward around the other agents, and her temper was still on a short fuse, but she no longer had to worry about her powers getting the better of her. Allegra knew that some of the credit should go to Zenyatta and his meditation. She also took a run every day, switching between the two legs and the four. After having figured out how to load music onto the ipod Lucio gave her, she often used it when on her runs and when she meditated or sketched in her notebook.

Allegra was running in her wolf form after dinner, the evening air fresh and cool. She loved these runs the most, they made her feel so free. Spotting a large growth a sweet grass, she stopped. Hesitating, she decided to give in, and dived into it. Rolling around on her back, wiggling, she covered herself in the nice scent. Turning again, she splayed her paws out and have a happy content sigh. She hadn't done anything like this since she was little. She was snapped out of it when she heard something approaching, fast. Before she could decide to hide or to run, a huge red wolf, easily twice the size of her, nearly stumbled right over her. Stopping shorty the two stared at each other for a heartbeat before Allegras hackles raised and her lips curled back into a snarl. The red wolf looked at her in surprise, taking a defensive stance but cocking its head as if it was puzzled. Allegra was ready to fight when the scent practically slammed into her. Sandalwood, gun powder, and cigar smoke. Physically jolting backwards, her eyes went wide. The red wolf gave what only could have been a smirk, recognition setting in. It nodded it's massive head, and Allegra could practically hear the southern twang of a Howdy. Of course, this giant furry beast was McCree, she should have noticed when she saw it missed a forepaw. She gave the closest thing to a groan she could in this form and took off back to base. She heard him follow after her. She turned, snarling and snapping, giving the clear message that he needed to back off. And of course, he didn't listen. He matched his speed to hers, crowding her close to sniff at her. She growled at how forward he was being, but she was surprised that he wasn't making her uncomfortable. Giving a huff, she ignored him the rest of the way. They were within eyesight of the base, and she shifted back before anyone could see her. Flipping her hair over her shoulder she didn't look back, heading for the hangar doors.

"Red!" Jesse called, and she tried to convince herself not to look back. She did anyway, and felt her heart skip a beat. His hair was a little mussed, hat missing and he still had some prominent fang from his recent shift. He was checking to make sure his prosthetic was attached securely, not paying attention to her. Which was good because she felt herself flush, and didn't know why. Looking back up at her he smiled, his crooked grin flashing a bit of his fangs and made her choke on her breath.

"You're a wolf!" He said excitedly, oblivious to her confused struggle. She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Obviously." She snarked, not meeting his eye.

"I just didn't know, is all. It's a hell of'va surprise. I thought you were a fire type."

"I don't advertise it, not a lot of people know my classification and I plan on keeping it that way!" He laughed.

"That's why Angela is your handler too. She has a special way with us canine shifters."

She grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him down to glare at him.

"I swear to whatever god you pray to, Jesse McCree, you tell anyone I can shift and I will shave your beard off in your sleep." His eyes went wide.

"You wouldn't." He asked in a shocked whisper. Letting him go, she smirked, hands resting on her hips.

"Try me Spurs."

"Alright, alright." He said with a smirk of his own.

"You're secrets are safe with me." She held back a smile and left him, looking back over her shoulder at the man. When she made it back to her room, she shut the door quickly, wondering what had possibly gotten into her mind. Because she was quite sure she was just flirting with the cowboy. And heaven help her, she had even thought he was cute.

An Overwatch team had been called in to help evacuate citizens after a group of bandits using dwarven forged weapons tried to take over a town. But as they entered the town, they found out they they had severely underestimated the number of hostiles. Splitting into smaller groups to cover different areas, Allegra found herself with Jesse, helping Angela get the wounded civilians to a safer location where they could be patched up.

"This would be easier if we could use our abilities." Allegra snarled, providing cover for Jesse to carry an elderly woman to safety behind the large outer wall they were set up behind.

"It would be easier if they didn't have such good weapons." Jesse growled back.

"Frickin Dwarf guns." Allegra cursed under her breath. Jesse was right of course. Dwarven made weapons were simply better than normal ones. And guns made by dwarves were more powerful, and tended to do more damage, with better aim and range then a normal one would have. Having deposited the old woman, Jesse and Allegra moved on to find more survivors. They met plenty of hostiles along the way, having to stop and clear out a path.

"Who brings a frickin six shooter to a gunfight? You spend more time reloading than you do actually being helpful" She screamed at him.

"At least I hit everything I aim for." Jesse barked back.

They had to duck around a corner to avoid being seen by another large group of bandits trying to clear out a store.

"How do you even carry enough bullets for that antique?" She scoffed, keeping a lookout. They heard a maniacal laugh, and braced themselves as Jamie blew half of the square apart. It certainly helped pick a few of the bandits off, making it easier for Jesse and Allegra to duck down another alley. Coughing through all of the debris, Allegra looked over at the cowboy.

"I'll tell you what, if we survive this, I'll make you cowboy hat shaped cookies."

"How about if we survive, you teach me how to make them." She gave him an unheated glare and agreed.

"This way." Jesse directed, obviously using this keen sense of smell to help them find more innocent civilians. They found a scared group, no more than four, huddled behind what used to be a laundromat. Jesse quickly ushered them further down the alley, signaling them to keep quiet. They didn't make it far, one of the civilian women clutched at Allegra, begging in a language she didn't understand and gesturing behind them. Allegra spotted the thing that made the woman so desperate. A girl, perhaps about twelve years old was hiding behind an overturned car, trying to get to the group her and Jesse were leading out of there.

All that noise brought over some bandits. Jesse was quick to shoot them most of them down, but then was left having to reload. Allegra froze, her eyes wide on the girl, and all she could see was herself at that age.

"Jesse, cover me." Allegra darted across the street, sliding in beside the young girl.

"God damn it. I'm trying to reload." She heard him hiss. Allegra was able to bring another one of them down, but was caught of guard, slugged hard across the jaw causing her to crumple, her gun skittering across the broken asphalt. Above her, with what had to be the largest shotgun she had ever seen was one of the bandits, and ugly smirk on his face. He noticed the girl, giving a harsh laugh at her crying face. The world seemed to slow down, Allegra watched as the man raised his gun, aiming at the girl instead of her. She had two options; she could roll for her gun and hope she could stop him in time, or she could take a bullet for a complete stranger. Her body seemed to chose for her. A deafening crack filled the air as the shotgun fired, the girl screamed, and Allegra gasped.

"Fuck." Allegra groaned, holding her stomach. Pain radiated like a hot knife in her abdomen, but she wasn't bleeding, her body armour keeping the damage nonfatal. The man raised his gun again, this time aiming for her head. She could feel her eyes turn black as she glared at him, but didn't let her control slip beyond that. The man never got the chance to fire though. Hands, one gloved, one metal, grabbed either side of his head from behind. With a sickening crack, the bandit's head was twisted, and he fell. Jesse was quick to get to her, falling to one knee to check on her, worry etched all over his face.

"What was that about?" She asked, trying to sit up, but the movement made her tense in pain.

"I could be asking you the same thing." He snapped, then looked away with a huff.

"I ran out of ammo." Allegra gave a laugh, but instantly stopped with a groan. Jesse tried to check her over, but she waved him away.

"Get her to her mom." He nodded, carefully picking up the crying girl and jogging across the street to the woman who was also in tears. Jesse called for Angela on his com, reporting that Allegra was down, and they needed help extracting a small group of civilians. Allegra leaned over, reaching out as far as she could to grab her gun. It hurt to stretch her arm out, but then again she was just shot point blank in the stomach with a shotgun on steroids. Instead of sitting back up, she just laid there, one arm holding herself around the middle as if it could stop the pain, the other holding her weapon, ready to shoot at anything that even thought of coming close to her.

"Fuckin six shooter." She sighed.

"Hey now." Jesse crouched down next to her.

"Don't be hatin' on my gun." She rolled her eyes.

"You gunna be okay Darlin?" He asked, still clearly worried.

"I'll survive. Did everyone get out okay?" She asked, Jesse helping her to sit upright again. She wasn't sure if she could stand up, so she decided not to risk it.

"Mei and Roadhog took over for me, they'll get everyone out okay. And Angela is headed this way."

"That leaves Junkrat rounding up the rest of the bad guys, who was stupid enough to leave him in charge." She coughed, pain seizing her and she gritted her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Calm down, Angela will be here to fix you up soon enough." She swatted at him.

"I'm fine. Probably nothing worse then a couple of broken ribs. I'll heal fast enough."

"Good, cause I do believe that you owe be a cookin' lesson." Allegra gave him a sour look.

"Mission isn't over yet, maybe I'll get lucky and Junkrat will blow us all up."

"You're gunna hurt my feelin's if you keep that up." Jesse laughed.

"Yeah, well, I've seen what you called cookies and…"

"If you talking, that means you are still alive." Angela hurried into view, her heels clicking against the busted road.

"That's a good sign. We have to make this quick." Angela warned them, dropping her heavy medical bag beside Allegra. The doctor gave her a quick check, and deciding she was stable enough to move, ordered them to head back to transport.

"Up we go." Jesse helped Allegra up, one arm around his shoulders. She tightened her grip, probably bruising him when the pull caused pain to flare up again. She protested, ensuring them that she would walk on her own, but they ignored her. Together they made their way through the almost empty town, a few random explosions the only other sign of life. They were lucky not to run into any hostiles.

"Here we go." Jesse helped her aboard the carrier, making sure she was sitting down before he went to help the rest of the team. Fifteen minutes later, everyone came filing back onto the carrier, arms full of dwarven guns, storing them in the back room. Mako went to the cabin to get them started on the way back to base, and Angela cornered Allegra, ready to see how bad her injuries were. After they were in the air and stable, Angela had Allegra set on the table and started her examination.

"You're very lucky you were wearing your body armour." Angela scolded her.

"I've had worse." Allegra huffed. Angela tapped the top of her head with a pen.

"A point blank shot like that to your abdomen would have resulted in …"

"I know what could have happen." Allegra interrupted.

"But I am capable of handling it, that girl wouldn't have." Allegra pouted, not looking the doctor in the eyes.

"Taking a bullet for a civilian isn't something I recommend, but at least everyone in Overwatch has done it or would do it. I guess you're officially one of us now." Angela smiled at her.

"Congratulations. Now, I need to get this armour off of you."

"The back." Allegra instructed, trying very hard to sit still. The back of her body armour laced up tightly, almost like a corset. It wasn't the most functional, but considering some of the other uniforms agents wore, functionality wasn't always most important. Angela took one look at it and clicked her tongue.

"Oh lord, I will need help with this." She looked over at Mei, who seemed to be having a hard enough time keeping Jamie away from the confiscated weapons.

"I… I can try..." Angela pursed her lips, unsure what to do.

"It's not like I'm not wearing something underneath it." Allegra felt her embarrassment grow. Angela gave her an apologetic smile.

"Jesse can you come here please." Allegra groaned under her breath, and tried staring a hole through the ceiling.

"What do ya need?" Jesse asked helpfully.

"Can you help remove Allegra's body armour. It laces in the back."

"Damn Angie, at least let me buy the girl dinner first." Jesse laughed, trying to make the situation a little lighter. It didn't help, Allegra blushed darkly, and Angela scolded him. Hands held up in submission, he started to try and undo the laces. A stab of pain laced through her and she inhaled sharply through gritted teeth.

"Stop!" Angela nearly shouted, although the order wasn't needed, Jesse stopping as soon as he heard the hiss of pain.

"Shit." Jesse mumbled under his breath.

"I can try again." He started.

"Just cut the damn laces." Allegra growled.

"Alright, but remember this later that ya' asked for this." Angela handed Jesse one of her scalpels, and he sliced through the laces in one clean swipe. A great pressure was released and Allegra could breath a little easier.

"Thank you Jesse, you can go now." Angela helped work the armour down Allegra's arms and set it on the table out of the way.

"Does that help?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah, actually." The pain was still there, but it wasn't a constant pressure.

"Lift your shirt, so I can see what I'm working with." Carefully, gritting her teeth, Allegra lifted her shirt to just under her breast. Angela immediately frowned, her brows pulled low. Her skin was already purpling, bruising in ugly blacks and blues, but there was no swelling. Angela poked and prodded, gauging her reactions and diagnosing her.

"You have five fractured ribs, and you have bruises inside and out. But there is no internal bleeding. You also have a nasty bruise on your jaw. With your rate of healing, I believe that you will be completely healed within two to three days. Consider yourself lucky."

"I chose between two maybes. Maybe I would get to my gun in time, and maybe I could save that poor girl's life. So, yeah. I consider myself lucky." Allegra let her shirt drop. Angela gave her a serene smile.

"You have come so far." Allegra scoffed, rolling her eyes and refusing to look at the blonde. But her acceptance and words of praise made Allegras heart grow a little lighter.


	11. Chapter 11

Recuperation ment no training, but also meant no mission roster. But Allegra could live with that. It was only a few days after all. For a tiny moment, she had been upset; she had just got put back on the roster and now she was off because of injury. But she reminded herself why she was injured, and it was hard to stay angry at herself. She also remembered her promise to McCree, which is why she she was once again town, wondering where the hell she was going to find a cowboy shaped cookie cutter. She groaned and grumbled to herself, wondering why she even made the promise as she checked the shelves of yet another small store. It wasn't surprising that she couldn't find one, and decided to give up. Carrying the other supplies she bought, she began walking back to the base. Allegra was only a few miles in when a car pulled along side her on the otherwise deserted road.

"Need a lift?" Genji asked, leaning out of the window; Lena shooting her a smile from behind the steering column. Allegra, no longer wary, gave them a tight smile and climbed in. The ride was entirely different from the last time she had gone to town and back. Lena was extremely talkative; she had the tendency to talk quickly and jump from one topic to another without any real connection between the topics. And Genji surprised her. Any previous interaction she had with him was with Zenyatta as well. When he was with his master, he was often mellow and quiet. But he seemed to have caught some of Lena's excitement. Together the rambled in the front seat, Genji sometimes switching to Japanese if he spoke to quickly. Allegra stayed silent, not wanting to be swept into the tide; it was going to be a long trip.

"So why were you walking anyway? You could have borrowed a ride." Lena addressed her suddenly. Caught by surprise, Allegra took a little while to realise the question was directed at her.

"Oh... I don't know how to drive." She finally answered.

"Bummer!" Lena sounded honestly sorry for her.

"Next time you need a trip into town, just snag someone who can drive you. Nearly everyone loves a trip into town during their spare time."

"Were you looking for something specific today?" Genji asked as he fiddled with the radio.

"Yeah, but I couldn't find it." She shrugged. Lena swiveled to look at her, but quickly focused back on the road.

"That bites! What were you looking for?" Allegra gave a quick swallow, feeling a little self conscious, and not knowing why.

"Uh… A shaped cookie cutter. I promised McCree some cookies, but I can't find the cookie cutter shape that I wanted." Genji chuckled, but Lena pulled a face, giving her big eyes.

"No fair, what do I have to do to get cookies?"

"More importantly, what did Jesse do to get cookies?" Genji asked; trying to sound innocent but failing. Allegra could feel a flush building on the back of her neck and ears, and quickly tried to shut down that particular line of thinking.

"I made him the deal that if we got back from the last mission, I would teach him how to make cookies. Someone needs to teach him, his idea of baking would be enough to incapacitate someone." Allegra crossed her arms over cher chest.

"Wait!" Genji turned hands gripping the headrest of his seat as he stared at her.

"Did HE made YOU cookies?" Allegra was afraid to answer, especially as a knowing smirk curled on Genji's face.

"AWWWW! That's so precious!" Lena cooed, and her and Genji laughed. Allegra growled, hunching down in her seat, flush bright on her cheeks.

"I'm done with this conversation." She grumbled. It only caused the others to laugh harder. Allegra sulked in the backseat the rest of the way back to base.

Allegra asked Athena to inform Jesse that she would be in the community kitchen after dinner. She had all of the supplies and a recipe laid out on the counter. Now she just waited, rubbing at her neck subconsciously. She smelled the cigars and sandalwood even before he came into the kitchen.

"Howdy, how are ya healin'?" He asked as soon as he saw her.

"I heal pretty fast. Good genes." She shrugged. Fingers in his belt loops he looked over all of the stuff she had out.

"So, what are ya teachin' me first?"

"Wash up first and then I'll tell you." She gestured to the as she made sure her hair was still in a tight bun.

"Ya got an extra one of those things?" He asked. She wasn't sure what he wanted at first, but nodded, figuring it out and pulled another hair elastic out of her pocket. He finished washing his hands and pulled his hair up into a very short and messy ponytail. She tried hiding a smile.

"Do you want an apron too?" She joked. He looked down at his midsection and thought it over.

"Do ya think I need one?" Allegra rolled her eyes and jumped right into explaining everything. She showed him the recipe, and handed him some measuring cups.

"Wet ingredients in one bowl. Dry ingredients in the other." She instructed. He started carefully, and slowly measuring out everything while she took a large brick of chocolate and started to chop it into tiny chunks.

"Is butter wet or dry?" Jesse asked, holding up two sticks of butter.

"Wet. You cream together the butter and the sugar. It's right there in the recipe." He frowned, looked at her with brows down.

"If it's one bowl for wet and one bowl for dry, why do ya' put the dry sugar in the wet bowl?" Allegra stopped, thinking about it.

"Food magic." She said with a half smile. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Food magic?"

"That's what my mom would say whenever I questioned a recipe. What the recipe says, that's how we do it."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Allegra finished with the chocolates and started preheating the oven. Watching Jesse, shirt rolled to his elbows as he carefully measured out the vanilla into the tiny teaspoon. Her chest felt constricted and warm, but she tried to ignore it.

"Can I add the other bowl now?" Jesse asked, holding up the bowl of dry ingredients. Allegra checked over his wet batter before nodding.

"Careful though." She warned him as he added the two bowls together.

"If you stir too fast the…" She coughed, waving a hand to clear the air. Jesse had not listened, and started stirring with too much gusto, causing flour to fly everywhere.

"Sorry." He gave her a lopsided grin that made him look 10 years younger, and she snatched the bowl from him. Setting it on the counter, she looked herself over, brushing the light layer of flour that had coated her arms and chest.

"Did I ruin them?" He asked, dusting himself off. She rolled her eyes.

"No, they'll be fine. You just have to be careful; I'm not going to help you clean up any messes." He picked the bowl back up, slowly stirring the flour into the rest of the batter until it was all sticky. Allegra poured the chocolate chunks into the bug bowl.

"Fold those in." She directed. Jesse looked at the wooden spoon and back at her.

"Fold?""Yeah, like…" She tried to think of the right way to explain the difference between stir and fold. She took the spoon and showed him instead as he held the bowl steady.

"Like this. Until the chocolate is evenly throughout the dough." She went to hand him back the spoon, and saw how he was watching her. Her ears started to grow warm.

"You look good when you're bakin." He said softly.

"What?!" She stammered, crossing the kitchen quickly in the guise of getting a baking sheet.

"You look happy when you're in here." He clarified.

"I guess…" She sprayed the pan with cooking spray and instructed him on how to lay out small dollops of dough. After setting the timer, she waited silently as Jesse started to gather all of the dirty dishes, placing them in the sink. Allegra felt increasingly awkward as the time dragged on, and Jesse didn't seem to notice, whistling as he worked. When the timer did go off, Jesse pulled the cookies out and gave a big sniff.

"Damn! These would make my momma proud. You sure are on hell of'va teacher there Red."

"Well it is a lot easier when you use a recipe." She smirked.

"How do ya know I didn't?" Jesse asked, placing one hand on his hip. Allegra raised a brow.

"I saw those things, remember. Not even you can screw up that badly if you were following clear instructions."

"That's a might insultin'." Jesse laughed it off.

"Maybe you're just better at that food magic than me." Allegra fought back a smile and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry for interrupting." A quiet voice sounded from the doorway. Mei peeked inside and then held up a blue plastic water bottle.

"I just needed to fill this up. Sorry."

"No need to apologize Miss Mei." Jesse waved her in.

"It's a community kitchen after all, you're welcome to come in anytime."

"Oh, but I thought…" She pulled a large pitcher of water from the fridge and readjusted her glasses.

"Lena and Genji have been warning people to stay away. They didn't want anyone to ruin your date, but I'm going down to the labs and needed a refill."

"They what?!" Allegra choked. Mei looked between Allegra and Jesse, then flushed a dark pink.

"This isn't… They were saying…" Jesse just laughed, lazy wave of his hand.

"She's just teaching me the mysteries of bakin' cookies is all. Nothing fancy; they shouldn't have been driven folks off." Mei gave a hesitant smile, one that grew to a true one and grabbed her now full water bottle.

"Sorry again. You two have fun." Jesse tipped an imaginary hat to the leaving woman, and Allegra grit her teeth, hiding her face in the palm of her hand.

"I may have to kill those two."

"Naw, they're just havin' fun." Jesse laughed, handing her a still warm cookie.

"It would be more fun to not let them have any of these beauties. Probably hurt them more too."


	12. Chapter 12

Angela had given her the all clear, and she was back on the roster once more. And she seemed to be doing well, returning from several successful missions without any further incident. But her missions seemed to have a recurring theme, and that was the absolute lack of Talon. She knew there was agents who would go and come back, reporting of Talon movements. But so far, they were trying to keep Allegra far from any Talon related incidents. So she brought it up to Jack.

"You're not ready." Was his simple reply.

"Not ready? I've showed countless times that I can now control my abilities." Jack sighed, as if having to explain this was a chore.

"You have gained control, in normal situations. We are not sure that when faced with the thing that literally sets you off, that you can maintain that control."

"We? Who else feels like that?" Allegra asked, hands on hips.

"Winston and myself. And Angela." He was almost hesitant about giving her the doctors name. Hurt burned through her and she left Jack's office. Angela was her handler, and the one person who Allegra thought had her back. She needed the woman to explain. Heading down to the med-bay, she found the doctor.

"I'm not ready?" She demanded, starling Angela at her desk.

"Allegra? What are you talking about?"

"I talked to Jack about my lack of Talon based missions." Allegra clarified, arms crossed tightly across her chest.

"And he informed you of my opinion on the matter." Angela sighed running a hand through her hair.

"I just don't understand why. Haven't I proved to all of you that I am capable of controlling myself? Haven't I done enough?"

"Jack and Winston don't know if placing you on a team for one of those missions would be the best. They are worried that you would be more concerned about getting at Talon then completing the mission itself."

"And you?"

"I'm not worried about the mission, I'm worried about you." Angela placed her hands in her lap and watched Allegra carefully.

"I know you are a capable agent. But I am not sure if confronting Talon would be healthy for you right now. Mentally speaking. As your doctor, I am worried that being placed in such a situation could cause a relapse in your PTSD. As your friend, I don't want to see you go through that."

"I was promised that I would be able to have my pick of missions; that I would be able to get back at them! I didn't join Overwatch to make friends." Allegra snarled.

"So will you leave?" Angela asked, upset as well. Allegra's brow furrowed and she was stuck. Confusion and anger warred within her, combining with the hurt from before.

"I don't…" She wasn't sure what she wanted. Throwing herself into a spare chair, she huffed, running a hand across her throat.

"You might not have joined in order to make friends, but you have gained some. Myself, and Zenyatta, and many of the others. We care about you, and the possibility of you facing something so troubling to you, something that can hurt you; it scares us. It was selfish of me to use my feelings as an excuse to keep you away from certain missions, I'm sorry." Allegra sighed, elbows on knees, and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I like what I do here, it's not exactly what I envisioned I would be doing, but… I don't feel like a monster anymore. But I also don't know how to be a friend."

"You shouldn't worry, you are doing just fine." Angela gave her a soft smile.

"Better then fine if you were to listen to rumors." Angela teased her. Allegra looked up, giving the doctor a suspicious glance.

"The rumors used to be about me killing people in their sleep… What are they now?"

"They say a certain cowboy may be a little sweet on you." Allegra gave her a deadpan stare.

"So just as ridiculous as usual then." Sarcasm was thick in her voice. Angela clicked her tongue.

"I'll make you a deal. I will talk to Jack about a few scouting missions that have Talon involvement. There is less chance of enemy contact, but at least you are involved. If you can get through those… we will see." Allegra groaned low in her throat, but felt a least a little appeased.

"It will have to do." She sighed. She glanced at the doctor from the corner of her eye.

"Now… who's been starting those rumors?"

Her earbuds were securely in place, and she sang softly along with the music as she ran. Her breath came out sharply as she tried breathing out the words, her pace increasing. Allegra reached the top of the incline and heaved a sigh of relief. She stretched her arms over her head and set down in the soft grass. Her breathing evened out as she set there, humming. As the chorus of her song came on she started to sing aloud. It was nice, feeling comfortable and fresh from a good run. She was startled out of it when Jesse flopped down onto the grass next to her. She pursed her lips tightly and gave him a side glance.

"Don't stop on my account Red. You have such pretty singin' voice." He grinned, pulling out one of his cigars. She held out a finger, a little flame dancing at the tip so he could light it.

"Classy." He smiled, his eyes practically sparkling with laughter.

"I didn't know you were up here." She frowned, pulling out her earbuds.

"I heard you up here, thought I'd come visit."

"I didn't know I was being so loud." She pulled her knees up, resting her chin on them.

"Oh, it don't bother me none. With a voice so nice, I would love to hear you howl." Allegra looked at him like he had sprouted a second head. He blew out a thin stream of smoke. A slight flush crept across her cheeks.

"What?!"

"Take a run with me, get some howling done. Haven't you ever had the need for a good howl?" Jesse grinned, cocking an eyebrow.

"I don't do that." She told him.

"Every wolf does it. What does a man got to do to hear you? Just a little one?" Jesse teased her. He clearly understood the double meaning of his question, but acted ignorant.

She scoffed at him, lifting her chin to look down her nose at him.

"You better pray you never hear me howl, Spurs. I only howl when I hunt." Jesse laughed, big smile on his face.

"Well damn, let's go bag us a squirrel or two then." She pushed at him, knocking him off balance while he laughed at her.

"You are being purposefully impossible." She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. She stood back up, ready to head back. Putting the earbuds back in she gave Jesse a nod of goodbye.

"I would howl for you, ya'know." He told her, leaning back on his arms, ankles crossed. She felt the flush growing on her cheeks, but hurried away, pretending she didn't hear him over her music. The rumors Angela told her about may be the truth after all. She picked up the pace, hoping to excuse the racing of her heart with the exercise, even if she knew she was lying to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

True to her word, Angela talked to Jack, and Allegra was assigned a mission to patrol an abandoned Talon outpost. It was only a scouting mission, but Allegra was fired up. Angela and Jesse were going, and Mei and her team were coming along too, in the hopes of Mei finding any information from the underground labs. The trip there had Allegra antsy, and she had a hard time sitting still. Leaving the ship a ways away, they readied themselves for the trekk over to the silent base.

"Why are we here?" Jamie complained as they tried to quietly scout the compound. Jesse shrugged, cigar held tightly between his teeth.

"Because we were ordered here." Angela explained, checking her gear. Mako grunted in agreement. Allegra sniffed at the air, not sure where the unease she felt came from.

"You okay Red?" Jesse asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Just reminded of how we met." She rolled her eyes. It may have been sarcasm, but there was truth there. It was way too quiet, with no one around. It was the perfect setup for an ambush. She ran a thumb over her hip holster. Sure, it was reported abandoned, but she couldn't shake the heavy feeling in her gut. They just needed to finish the quick sweep before heading into the compound itself. Jesse went first, followed my Mei and Jamie. Allegra had her gun in hand, and ducked through the doorway before waving Angela through. But Angela never made it. Gunfire started, bullets hitting the walls and the door. Angela ducked, Mako pulling her back to cover before the whole side of the compound exploded. Allegra was thrown back, knocking into Jamie, both of them hit the ground. Coughing she stood, searching for her gun and found nothing. She pulled Jamie up and they both ran for better cover.

"Mei!" Jamie screamed, trying to find his handler. He took off, leaving Allegra where she was ducked out of sight.

"God damn it!" Allegra growled. Pressing the com in her ear to activate it she tried contacting the others.

"Can anyone hear me?" She only got a lot of static in return. She took the broken thing off and threw it across the room.

"Howdy!" Jesse slid next to her out of nowhere, Peacekeeper at the ready.

"Where is everyone?" She asked him as he took aim over their cover.

"Mercy got hurt in the blast, Roadhogs taking her to the extraction point. Mei and Junkrat ain't respondin'." He quickly reloaded.

"He was just with me. They are trying to separate us. Pick us off in fewer numbers. And I've lost my gun."

"That's never stopped you before, Red. We got to finish this quickly or they'll take off without us." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him at a fast pace.

"There!" Allegra called, spotting the others. It was easy to tell them apart from the other shooters; who were all in black and red tactical gear. It was obviously Talon. Allegra growled low in the back of her throat. As they reached the others Mei cried out in pain, her body twisting from the force of the gunshot. The few moments of concern was taken advantage of, but not by them. Mei hit the ground, clutching her arm. Jamie crouched over her, protecting her from the other guns as the group of Talon agents surrounded them. Jesse was forced to his knees, hat missing and a gun pressed to the the back of his neck. They were outnumbered 3 to 1.

"Stop!" Allegra growled, the hair on the back of her neck rising with her anger. A large iron manacle snapped around her wrist, chain held by the agent closest to her. The weight of it jerked her to the side and she was pulled away from the others. Jesse growled from where he was. The agent behind him cracked him across the cheek with the butt of the confiscated Peacekeeper.

"Talon has missed you, Allegra. We will be taking you back." The agent said with a jerk of the chain. Allegra tried pulling back, away from his grasp with a snarl.

"Not going to happen." Fire began to lick its way up her arms, control be damned. The agents around them laughed, ignoring the snarls and growls from Jesse and Jamie, still protecting the bleeding Mei.

"You have to be careful of that fire of yours. You let that temper get out of hand and your friends get toasted too." Allegra's eyes went wide with realization. They were making sure she didn't burn out the lot of them by keeping her comrades close. Fear began to seep into her anger, causing her flames to sputter and shrink.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said softly, leveling everyone with a glare. The agent laughed, giving the chain a sharp yank, causing her to fall heavily on one knee.

"Yes you will." He pulled something from his tack belt and she suddenly had another manacle around her neck. She clawed at it, panic rising and flames raced up her, surrounding her whole body.

"No!" Jesse yelled, trying get to her. The bone-chilling sound of a gun cocking made him freeze, Allegra snapped her head up to look at him. She watched Jesse, gash on his cheek as he calmly watched her. She watched the blood seep from Mei's arm, as Jamie snarled at anyone who got close to them. Her heart started to beat faster, even though all the adrenaline from the fight left, making her suddenly feel very cold. The taste of bile coated the back of her throat as she tried to calm down. Her comrades trusted her; Jesse trusted her. Now they were going to die and she was going to be taken and used again if she didn't do something. All the progress she made, all the friends that she now had. And maybe something more than friendship. SHe wasn't going to lose all of that. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes; she started to repeat to herself, remembering her meditation with Zenyatta. Her flames settled down, quickly dieing.

"Thats a good pet. Let's keep that fire out, we have a plane to catch." She didn't move, eyes still closed and spoke the words, barely a whisper.

"What's that now?" The agent was right before her, pulling the manacle around her neck forcing her to look up.

"I control my fire. Flames are mine to command." She stood, still speaking to herself.

"My powers will punish the wicked." She opened her eyes and looked right at him with eyes that were pure black.

"Burning the souls of the damned." Torrents of flames surrounded her, so bright and hot that everyone shielded their eyes. Jesse called out to her, but the only response was a howl that cut through all other noise. Flames raced over the ground, swallowing up everything, agents screaming and running, agents falling and being consumed in fire. Only three were spared, the flames that surrounded them not even warm, harmlessly licking at them in soft caresses. Jamie finally sat up, pulling Mei with him as they stared at the fire surrounding them. Jesse called out to her again, searching through the fire. She padded up to them, her paws sizzling against the ground. She was still black, but red flames danced through the fur at her chest and paws. Her black eyes now glowed as if they themselves were also flames. Her nose bumped Jesse on the chest, and he heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"You gave me a right scare there, Red." His fingers gripped into her fur and he put his forehead against her furry brow. She huffed and trotted past him to check on the others. Wherever she walked, the fire extinguished, as if being sucked back into her. Mei pushed her glasses back up her nose, eyes wide.

"Allegra?" She asked, peeking around Jamie. Allegra shifted back, sitting on her knees with a small sob.

"I'm so sorry." She said weakly, her strength fading.

"That was amazing!" Jamie cackled, hobbling off to check out a burned carcass.

"What did you do?" Mei asked. Allegra shook her head, dizzy. Jesse stood beside them, watching Allegra.

"Ha!" Jamie raised an arm above his head triumphantly, waving Jesse's hat in the air.

"My hat!" Jesse run to snatch it, placing it safely back on his head.

"How come it didn't burn with the rest of this stuff?" Jamie asked. Allegra tried standing, but couldn't. She crossed her arms as she tried to pull into herself.

"It was Hellhound fire." She said quietly, swaying. Her vision was going black.

"I'm a Hellhound."

"Holy shit!" Jamie whistled.

"Roadie's gunna be pissed he missed this." Was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness.


	14. Chapter 14

Allegra doesn't remember making it back to the ship, or even arriving back at Overwatch headquarters. She remains unconscious through everyone's worry, through the trip to the medical wing, and through the mission debriefing. She misses the practical retelling of the story given by Mei, and the dramatic spiel by Jamie which involved lots of arms waving and general body movement. And although Angela assured everyone that Allegra was just physically exhausted after such a demanding show of power, they still worried. When Allegra did finally wake up, the medical wing was dark and empty. Her body armour and weapons holster had been removed, along with her boots, in order for her to be comfortable. Pushing the covers aside, she slipped her feet out of the bed, her socks silent on the shiny floor. Squeezing her eyes shut, she thought over what happened. She hadn't lost control of her powers, in fact she had better control than ever before. She had never gone into her true hellhound form before, unleashing her full power in order to save her teammates. And now they all knew. The secret she had been trying to keep, they had seen it, and most likely the whole base knew by now. They would either shun her for what she was or they would shun her for lying to them all this time. Feeling like the walls were closing in on her, she ran from the medical bay, needing to be out in the open. Which is how she found herself at the top of her favorite hill, arms around her knees as she tried to calm her breathing, anything to keep her from crying.

"I thought I'd find ya here." Jesse said softly, sitting down next to her.

"You scared Angela half to death, when she found ya gone." Allegra mumbled an apology into her knees, refusing to look at the man. He shifted, and then Allegra felt him lay his serape around her shoulders. It was warm, and smelled so much like him. She turned her head, giving him a small glance.

"You know I don't get cold, right?"

"Maybe it's just for comfort." Jesse shrugged, chewing on his unlit cigar. Allegra buried her fingertips in the edges, pulling it tighter around her. It was a little bit of a comfort, being surrounded by his calming scent.

"Are you alright? We were all worried about you."

"You're not scared of me?" She asked, her voice quiet, and she tried to keep it from breaking.

"Darlin', I was scared shitless. But not of you. For you." He propped his knees up.

"We didn't know what was happenin', and you were stuck in the middle of it. I would hate for anything to happen to you." She was surprised by his answer.

"But I'm a hellhound." She argued.

"And I'm a skinwalker." He shot back.

"Overwatch is filled with all sorts of beasts, each scary in their own way. And there's always a bunch of lore out there meant to scare humans into behavin'. Don't really take much of it into account really." He gave her a sideways glance and a grin.

"Did ya really think what you are would matter to us." Eyes downcast, Allegra growled.

"It mattered to Talon."

"Yeah well, they can go sit on a cactus." Jesse huffed. A tiny laugh escaped Allegra.

"So none of you hate me? I can stay?" She asked almost hesitantly.

"I couldn't hate you if I tried." He said softly, his voice pure honey to her senses.

"Talon is going to try again. They won't stop trying to get me back." She sighed.

"Sugar, I won't let anyone take you away from me." Allegra flushed, burying her head in the serape.

"Overwatch… I mean, you're a member of the team now…" Jesse rubbed a hand over his face, embarrassment pulling his brow low. Allegra peeked out from her warm nest.

"Angela told me there's a rumor going around...about you being...sweet. On me." Jesse barked a quick laugh.

"Hardly a rumor, I haven't really been secretive about my feelin's for ya." Allegra's heart gave a hiccup. She unfolded herself, setting upsight to look at him.

"You have horrible taste in women."

"Don't be so mean." Jesse chuckled.

"I'm serious! I have no idea how to be in a relationship. I'm just now getting used to being someone's friend, I don't… You deserve someone who knows what they are doing."

"I think it's up to me who I deserve. And I'm not gunna' rush you into anything. Relationships are hard, and they're all different. You're not the only one that's unprepared for this." He suddenly couldn't look her in the eye.

"Especially if you don' feel the same way." Allegra blushed, glaring at the cowboy.

"I never said I didn't, I just... said I'm not going to be very good at it." He gave her a heart melting smile, and scoots closer, brushing their shoulders.

"What now?" Allera asked. Jesse held out a hand, and Allegra gave it a calculating glance before putting her hand in his. Entwining their fingers, Jesse looked out out the scenery.

"We go slow. Talk to each other, I'll cheer you up when you're upset, and you at least try my horrible cooking. And if Talon comes after you again, we deal with it together." Allegra gave a small smile, leaning into Jesse slightly. That certainly sounded like a future she would be happy with.


End file.
